Real Decreto 486/1997 of 14 April sets the minimum safety and health conditions for workplaces. It applies to the company's offices and studies. This lesson reviews what affects you most in an office job.
Space
Annex I sets these minimum dimensions:
- Minimum height of 3 metres from floor to ceiling. In offices, shops and service premises it can be 2.5 metres.
- Minimum free floor area of 2 square metres per person.
- Minimum unoccupied volume of 10 cubic metres per person.
Tidiness, cleanliness and exit routes
Annex II requires that:
- traffic and evacuation routes are always free of obstacles (boxes, cables, rucksacks, paper);
- places are cleaned regularly and waste is removed quickly;
- installations are maintained periodically.
A corridor with stacked boxes is already a risk of falling and, in a fire, a risk of blocking the exit.
Environmental conditions
Annex III gives values for the environment of enclosed premises:
| Condition | Value |
|---|---|
| Temperature in sedentary work typical of offices | between 17 and 27 °C |
| Temperature in light work | between 14 and 25 °C |
| Relative humidity | between 30 % and 70 % |
| Air renewal in sedentary work, without a hot environment or tobacco smoke | at least 30 m³ of clean air per hour per person |
| Air speed in non-hot environments | up to 0.25 m/s |
These figures are legal minimums. If it is too cold, too hot or too draughty at your workstation, report it: it may be a condition the employer must correct.
Lighting
Annex IV sets minimum lighting levels according to the visual demands of the task:
- low demands: 100 lux;
- moderate demands: 200 lux;
- high demands: 500 lux;
- very high demands: 1,000 lux.
Besides quantity, quality matters: no glare, no reflections on the screen and no annoying shadows. The levels must be doubled where a visual error could be a safety risk.
Facilities and first aid
- Drinking water available to workers.
- Toilets and, where appropriate, rest rooms, under the conditions set by annex V.
- First aid equipment: annex VI requires at least a portable first aid kit with authorised disinfectants and antiseptics, sterile gauze, absorbent cotton wool, bandages, adhesive tape, adhesive dressings, scissors, tweezers and disposable gloves.
- Workplaces with more than 50 people working must have a first aid room. The room can also be required with more than 25 if the labour authority decides so.
And at home
The royal decree describes the employer's workplaces. In remote work, Ley 10/2021 limits the risk assessment to the area of the home set aside for work. The values above serve as a useful comfort reference, but they do not turn your home into a workplace of the employer.